There is pride on the faces of the speakers at the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF) press conference on September 26, when Shaikha Jawaher Bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN (Sharjah Media Arts for Youth and Children), says that in its first year, SICFF had 100 entries for its awards segment; this year, there were 500.
That’s about 100 additions every year since its launch.
The media event, held at Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort and Spa, saw Dr Habib Ghuloom, Emirati actor, director and member of SICFF’s judging panel, Shaikha Jawaher, and Ola Al Haj Hussain, corporate citizenship manager, Crescent Enterprises, explain what audiences could look forward to between October 8 and 13.
For one thing, 70 international directors will walk the red carpet; for another, 124 movies from 31 countries will be screened.
Many of the movies being shown this year — the chief contributors are from the US (45), UAE (33) and France (29) — will be worldwide premieres, including Albion: The Enchanted Stallion (which is also the opening movie), The Little Vampire, Window Horses and The Big and Little. The closing movie is The Little Campaign.
The films are to be screened at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre (JRCC) and Novo Cinema at Sahara Mall in Sharjah.
The competitors at SICFF, which aims to promote young talent and encourage creativity through exposure to the industry and international expertise, will race for prizes in seven categories: Best Short GCC Film; Best Student-made Film; Best International Short Film; Best Animation Film; Best Documentary Film; Best Feature Film; and Best Child-made Film.
Judges
This year, each category will have a dedicated jury of specialists to gauge the entrants. In all, these judges form a 19-member group of artists, directors, producers, critics and other film specialists. The members are actor and poet Ebrahim Al Hsawi; actor Marie Al Halyan; screenwriter Mohammad Hassan Ahmad; singer Ahmad Al Jassmi; actor Sultan Al Niyadi; filmmaker Abdullah Al Kaabi; playwright and actor Abdullah Saleh; actor Dr Habib Ghuloom; filmmaker Abdulla Al Sharhan; poet and director Nujoom Al Ganem; journalist Ola Al Fares; filmmaker Bassam Mohammad Al Thawadi; actor Dr Khalid Ameen; Nayla Al Khaja; screenwriter and director Ayman Jamal; Tony award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose; director Firdoze Bulbulia; animator Mohammad Saeed Harib; and director Ali Mostafa.
Workshops
Besides this, said Shaikha Jawaher, 50 workshops shall be held during the six-day fest (most at JRCC). And once it is over, the workshops will be held in Kalba, Dibba Al Hisn and Khorfakkan, from October 15-31; and in Al Thaid, Al Madam, Al Hamyria and Al Bataeh, from November 5-16.
The workshops held encompass a wide range of topics from cinema and visual arts.
So one could learn about creating and developing 3D characters (Game of Thrones class, conducted by GOT artist Thomas Kotchera); storyboards, at the Storyboarding and Basic Character Drawing, taught by Josh Staub, from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Dan Benett, Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival.
The Aesthetics of Photography workshop will be conducted by Adeeb Al Ani, President of the Arab Union of Photographers. Bahrain-based Kawthar Adnan will run a workshop on the fundamentals of animation in the Still Motion segment.
The Time Lapse workshop will explore the technique of manipulating time and frame rates, and will be conducted by Tatiana Poliektova from Russia and Filippo Rivetti from Australia, who are both nominated for SICFF awards.
The workshops are free. The movies are reserved for schools in the morning; during the day, tickets cost Dh20 for adults, Dh10 for children. Go to www.facebook.com/sharjahicff.
